The blackboard menu at Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal was written almost entirely in French. But our most pressing question for our waitress was about one of the few (partially) English language items listed.

“What on earth is a foie gras Double Down?” we wondered.

She laughed. “It’s like the Double Down at KFC. We take two lobes of deep-fried foie gras and sandwich it between melted cheddar cheese, bacon, maple syrup and sriracha mayonnaise. It’s really intense.”

We passed, but the young tourists from New York at the next table couldn’t resist. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” they muttered between mouthfuls.

Things are looking a little different on the other side of this great continent. Earlier this month California enacted a ban that made it illegal to raise, sell or serve foie gras, made by force-feeding ducks and geese through a tube to enlarge their livers. The procedure, called by its French name, gavage, is considered cruel by California lawmakers,